愛的禮物

陳博

“Can I see my baby？” the new mother asked happily. When the baby was put into her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his little face， she gasped1. The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears. Time proved that the babys hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred2.

When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mothers arms， she sighed3， knowing that his life was to be a succession4 of heartbreaks. He cried， “A boy， a big boy... called me a freak5.” He grew up， handsome for his misfortune. His fellow students all liked him and he might have been the monitor but for that. He developed a gift， a talent for art and music.

“But you might mingle6 with other young people，” his mother reproved7 him， but felt a kindness in her heart.

The boys father had a talk with the family physician. “Could nothing be done？” “I believe I could graft8 on a pair of outer ears， if they could be gotten，” the doctor decided. So the search began for a person who would give the ears to the young man.

Two years went by. One day， his father said to the son， “Youre going to the hospital， son. Mother and I have someone who will give the ears you need. But its a secret.”

The operation was a great success， and a new man appeared in front of the people. He displayed his talents， and his school and college became a series of triumphs9.

Later he got married and one day he asked his father， “Who gave me the ears？ Who gave me so much？ I could never do enough for him or her.”

“I do not believe you could，” said the father， “but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet.” The years kept their secret， but the day did come. One of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mothers casket10. Slowly， gently， the father held out a hand and raised the thick， reddish brown hair to tell him his mother had no outer ears.

“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut，” his father said gently， “and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful， did they？”

Remember： Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance， but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what can be seen， but what cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and known， but in what that is done but not known.

“我能看看我的孩子嗎？”剛生完孩子的媽媽幸福地問道。當嬰兒被放到她懷里，她打開圍布看他那小臉蛋時，不禁倒吸了一口氣。醫生急忙轉過身，透過醫院高高的窗戶朝外望去。孩子生下來就沒有耳朵。時間證明孩子的聽力沒有任何問題，只是相貌受損。

一天，他從學校跑回家，一頭撲到她的懷里，她嘆了口氣，知道他的生活會是接連不斷的悲傷。他痛哭道：“一個男孩，一個大男孩……叫我怪物。”他長大了，盡管有不幸的殘疾，長得還算相貌英俊。他的同學都喜歡他，要不是他的先天缺陷，他會被選為班長。他逐漸顯露出在文學和音樂方面的才華。

“你要和其他孩子打交道呀，”母親嘴上責備他，心中卻滿是柔情。

男孩的父親和家庭醫生談了一次。“難道什么也做不了？”“我相信我能夠移植外耳，只要能夠找到適合他的耳朵，”醫生拿定主意說。于是他們開始尋找一位愿意為年輕人獻出耳朵的人。

兩年過去了。有一天，父親說：“兒子，你可以去醫院移植耳朵啦。你媽和我找到了愿意為你捐獻耳朵的人，但這個人是誰還是個秘密。”

手術非常成功，一個全新的人出現在人們面前。他盡情施展著自己的才華，從中學到大學都是一帆風順，風光無比。

后來他結婚了。一天，他問他的父親，“是誰給了我這對耳朵？是誰對我如此慷慨？我對他（她）是永遠報答不盡的。”

“我想你是報答不盡的，”父親說，“但是協議是你不能知道……現在還不能告訴你。”這個秘密被歲月塵封，但那一天最終還是到來了……那是一個兒子經歷的最黑暗的一天。他和父親站在母親的棺材前。慢慢地，輕輕地，父親伸過一只手，撩起母親厚厚的棕紅色頭發——母親沒有了外耳。

“母親說她樂意永遠不剪她的頭發，”他輕聲說，“也從來沒有人認為母親不那么漂亮了，是不是？”

請記住：真正的美不在外表，而在內心。真正的寶藏不在被人看見的地方，而在不被人看見的地方。真正的愛不在讓人知道做了什么，而在做了什么卻不為人知。